


Sleepless

by pinkishbee



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: Sun & Moon | Pokemon Sun & Moon Versions
Genre: Alola-chihou | Alola Region (Pokemon), Angst, Drowning, Grimsley - Freeform, Guzma - Freeform, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Light Angst, M/M, Oneshot, Pokemon, Self-Indulgent, greyareashipping
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-08
Updated: 2020-12-08
Packaged: 2021-03-09 23:02:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,194
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27954317
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pinkishbee/pseuds/pinkishbee
Summary: Sleep doesn't come easy for those with a heavy past. Grimsley tries everything he can to fix his problem, but it backfires on him.
Relationships: Giima | Grimsley/Guzma
Kudos: 12





	Sleepless

The water washed over and under Grimsley’s hands as he stood in the ocean. It was as clear as ever, refracting the moonlight in strange patterns over his legs. He couldn’t quite see his feet from how dark it was, but he didn’t mind it. The ocean was always darker than the sky, making it look like a void, or a portal to another world. In a way, it was a portal for him. The gentle crash of the waves on the shore and the little splashes over his hands made him so sleepy. He had the hardest time sleeping. His mind would wonder so dangerously far, and before he knew it all he could think of was all the ways he failed in the past. All his mistakes and problems would come back to haunt him, and he wouldn’t get a wink of sleep. On some nights he wouldn’t get tired at all, so he thought for the longest time that he was just nocturnal. But all humans have the same internal clock. He just needed something to turn it on and drown the rest out. The ocean was perfect.

Sometimes too perfect. That became clear when he woke up suddenly, gasping hard, but nothing came in. Every time he coughed, he inhaled harder and harder, his breath hitching every time. It was terrifying, but it wouldn’t stop. It felt like his body was just prolonging the pain. 

He coughed and sputtered until he could breathe again. His chest didn’t stop hurting, and he still struggled with his raw throat and burning sinuses, but he could breathe. 

He was dropped on the shore where the waves came and went, licking at his legs as if enticing him to return. He’d ignore the requests for now. Someone was yelling at him.

“What’s your problem?! Do you have a death wish or something?! You’d be dead if it weren’t for me! Do you want to die, dumbass?!”

He had definitely considered it before. “Of course not,” he rapsed, rubbing the water from his eyes.

“Really? ‘Cause you don’t fuckin’ act like it!” 

He turned and looked up, only to see that white haired gangster that had scolded him before. He really had something against him, didn’t he? “If you thought I was trying to kill myself, why save me?”

He seemed to be flustered by Grimsley’s question. He didn’t have an answer, at least not one that he would admit. “‘Cause I can. You wanna die anyway, so what’s it to you?”

“It’s not like that,” he said. “I simply fell asleep. Nothing more to it.”

“You just… fell asleep? In the ocean?”

He nodded.

It was only then that Grimsley noticed his savior was trembling. Was he scared? He certainly couldn’t be cold, not in this weather. “Are you okay? You’re shaking.”

“No, I’m not.”

“Yes, you are.”

“It’s cold, alright?! It’s fuckin’ freezing out here and you’re suckin’ death’s cock in the ocean!” He crossed his arms tight as Grimsley started laughing.

His giggles and coughs wouldn’t die down, even as he spoke. “If that’s really what you think I was doing, I guess there’s no point in convincing you otherwise!” The other man didn’t find it very funny, if his confused glare was anything to go by. But eventually Grimsley calmed down with only a snicker here or there.

“Whether you just tried to or not, you almost died. That ain’t funny.” He was such a sourpuss. No one would want to think about how they almost died, or how they could’ve died had something been slightly different. He didn’t know how long he was asleep or when he was found, and he didn’t want to know either. If anything, he just wanted to pretend it didn’t happen.

There was nothing he could say. He didn’t want to be honest about how he felt, and he didn’t want to play around anymore either. The waves filled in the quiet between them, but it wasn’t soothing him anymore. Nothing could soothe him while being looked at like that.

The man above him finally broke the silence. “Do you plan to go home any time soon?” Then he shoved his hands in his pockets. “Do you even have a place to stay?” 

Grimsley scoffed. He knew he had mostly been seen on the beach, but he didn’t look homeless, did he? “Of course I have a place to stay.” A hotel that was too quiet. “I’m not out here because I don’t have somewhere to go.”

“Then why are you out here?”

He felt cornered. He avoided his eyes, hoping he could avoid the question altogether, but he was being watched. It made the back of his neck burn, despite the cool water dripping from his hair. His body shivered. _ Stop looking at me. _

“Fine, don’t tell me. I guess you don’t owe me an explanation even though I just saved your life.” What a bastard. “I’m going home now.” He walked away, and Grimsley’s heart stopped. There was one more thing to be said, and he always said it when he left. After that, Grimsley would be alone again. He was dreading it. 

“I do owe you,” he said. The man stopped and looked at him again. “It’s too quiet in my hotel. I don’t sleep.”

“So falling asleep in the ocean is a sensible solution to you?” He sounded irritated again.

“I didn’t mean to fall asleep,” Grimsley snapped. “I was trying to relax and clear my head so I could sleep when I got back.”

He sighed. “How well does that usually go? Do you even sleep when you get back? ‘Cause you look like you haven’t slept in weeks.”

That’s because he hadn’t slept in weeks. At least, not a lot. He was barely getting five hours every night. That was probably the reason he passed out in the first place. “It doesn’t really help all that much. Not in the long run, anyway.” But in the moment, it made him feel immensely better. If it was a drug, he’d be an addict. 

“Then what would help?”

Grimsley shrugged. He tried everything he could think of. Nighttime routines, tea, nightlights, and other things that the internet recommended. When those didn’t work, he tried alcohol and drugs. Those just turned into bad habits, so he had to drop them. Noise was the only thing that helped, but it never actually stopped the nightmares. It just made it easier to fall asleep. Needless to say, he was all out of ideas. Nothing would work for him. He would never sleep right.

Maybe he did want to die. It was just like sleeping, wasn’t it?

Besides death itself, there was one thing he didn’t try. “I’ve never had company. Not human company, anyway.” 

“You’re not… are you asking me to..?” 

“To let me sleep with you?” Grimsley finished his sentence, finally looking up at him again. “Yes. I would appreciate that.”

He looked unsure for a moment, thinking it over in his head. Then he hesitantly shrugged and turned on his heel. “Don’t expect anything special. My place ain’t a hotel or anything.” 

**Author's Note:**

> Another self-indulgent thing. Now I like Pokemon. Fuck. I hope you enjoyed this. It's the best thing I've written in a while, and since I have sleeping problems of my own, it was pretty cathartic to write. If only I had a Guzma to snuggle up with.


End file.
